The suit, filed on Wednesday, claims that Price Chopper was trying to cut labor costs by telling department managers that they do not qualify for overtime, even though they were allegedly required to work more than 40 hours a week and performed the same tasks as employees who accrue overtime.

The lawsuit names one plaintiff, Shelly Davine. She worked as a department team leader and a department manager in three price chopper stores in North Adams, Lenox and Lee, Massachusetts from 1983 through June 2014.

“What we allege is that in order to keep labor costs low, Price Chopper used team leaders and other to work lots of hours getting the work done in their departments, but without paying them the overtime they deserved,” explained Rachel Bien, who represents Devine and is heading up the class-action lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Price Chopper has released a statement about the suit:

“At this time, we haven’t been served with the complaint, so we have not had the opportunity to review the allegations. With regard to compliance with wage and hour laws, we are very familiar with their requirements and the analysis that must be done to make sure that employees are paid accordingly. We take our obligations to our employees seriously and take the necessary steps to ensure that we comply with the law.”

Price Chopper is facing a class action lawsuit after a Western Massachusetts former employee claims the supermarket chain failed to pay her overtime wages.

“When you punch that clock, what is it you’re doing between 9 and 5?” Michael Macomber, a senior associate for Tully Rinckey.

The answer to that question will become one of the main factors in a class action lawsuit involving supermarket chain Price Chopper and a former store employee.

“Your duties have to fall under certain duties requirements,” said Rachel Bien.

Attorney Rachel Bien is one of the people handling that lawsuit. Her client, Shelly Davine, worked as a team leader at three Price Chopper stores in the Berkshires.

Davine claims to have regularly worked more than 40 hours per week. But, she says she was never compensated for the extra hours because as a team leader, she was salaried and exempt from overtime.

“Those titles may be confusing at times,” said Macomber.

Macomber says what matters is what you do. In this case, Davine argues she worked the same duties as a regular hourly employee and thus, deserves the overtime.

“She spent the vast majority of her time providing customer service, working alongside overtime eligible workers, and doing the same kind of work they did,” said Bien.

Price Chopper released a statement, saying:

“With regard to compliance with wage and hour laws, we are very familiar with their requirements and the analysis that must be done to make sure that employees are paid accordingly. We take our obligations to our employees seriously and take the necessary steps to en sure that we comply with the law.”

“These types of cases happen everyday. Whether you’re a small employer or large employer, you can’t get out of having to pay that over time requirement,” said Macomber.

Davine aims to collect three years worth of overtime pay. She also hopes that several people in her position will join her case.

Small and mid-sized employers face the same risks as Price Chopper supermarkets and Stewart’s Shops — two of the largest private-sector employers in the Albany, New York area — when it comes to workers alleging they were not paid properly, attorneys said today.

For employers to protect themselves, the attorneys gave this advice: Regularly monitor and update job classifications when responsibilities or staffing changes; check the federal Department of Labor website to distinguish between ‘exempt’ and ‘non-exempt’ employees; and keep excellent payroll records.

“If there’s a Department of Labor investigation or a lawsuit, those records will be important,” said Ellen Bach, an employment attorney at Whiteman, Ostermann & Hannah LLP, the largest Albany-based law firm. “If there are no records, then there’s a presumption in favor of the employee.”

Bach and another local attorney not involved with the lawsuits filed against Price Chopper and Stewart’s — Michael W. Macomber of Tully Rinckey PLLC — spoke with me this week about the growing number of class action cases against private companies alleging violations of federal and state wage laws.

The number of lawsuits involving the Fair Labor Standards Act increased between 1991 and 2012, with the largest increases concentrated in a few states, including New York, according to a report issued last week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Federal judges in New York and Florida pointed to the large number of restaurants and other service industry jobs in the states as one of the reasons for the spike in lawsuits, according to the report. Wage and hour disputes are common in those industries.

Macomber said another reason New York may have more of these lawsuits is state law enables plaintiffs to pursue lost wages over a six-year period, double the amount allowed by federal law.

“If you have a company in New York and can go back six years, that’s double the damages,” Macomber said.

Employers can run into legal problems if they wrongly believe an employee with supervisory duties is exempt from overtime. The federal test for distinguishing between exempt and non-exempt isn’t as simple as labeling someone a manager.

“I think a lot folks always assume if they are salaried they are not entitled to overtime, and if hourly they are,” said Ryan Finn, an attorney at Hacker Murphy LLP in Colonie. “Under state and fed law, the issue is whether someone is exempt or non-exempt, which is a multi-factored test related to your position, responsibilities and duties.”

Finn is representing a former Stewart’s employee who filed a $20 million federal class action lawsuit in January claiming she and other hourly employees were not paid for all of the time spent on the job.

Stewart’s, the convenient store chain, has filed a motion to dismiss the case. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard Aug. 11 before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. McEvoy.

A separate lawsuit was filed July 30 in Massachusetts against The Golub Corp., owner of Price Chopper supermarkets. That suit was filed by a former supermarket department manager who claims she was not paid the overtime that she and others are entitled to receive. Price Chopper had not been formally served the lawsuit as of July 30, but the company said it complies with wage and hour laws.